ARU Final Report

12 Young people with disabilities’ experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic 4. Findings The findings from the guided conversations are presented under the themes of the six questions asked and are supported by relevant literature: • Practical supports o Accommodation o Finances o Education and training • Support from services • Anxiety and low mood • Contact with family and friends As much as possible, we have used excerpts from the guided conversations in order to share the experiences of young peoplewith disabilities in their own words. Where the names of people, places or organisations were mentioned, this is replaced with “XXX”. 4.1 Practical supports 4.1.1 Accommodation For the most part young people with disabilities either lived with family members or in supported living before the pandemic: With my Mum at home. I have lived at home and it has not changed, although I have had some overnight stays at school which social care agreed for me to have. I am really close to my Mum, Dad and brother and grandparents. With my grandparents in a staying put placement where I have lived for over 16 years. I live at XXX in my own flat, it’s supported living. I have help with shopping and ironing, what I make up for in hoovering I lack in ironing. I see the staff every day and they also help with meals, sometimes I have a take-away, so they don’t need to, but I have to watch the waistline. However, some young peoplewere living in chaotic, unstable environments: I was living alone in a men’s homeless hostel as I had just moved out of my flat after I had been cuckooed by a drug dealer. When asked if their accommodation changed during Covid-19, eight of the 20 respondents said it had. Of those whose accommodation had changed; some were temporary moves including moving home to parents for a short while: …but only for a month when my Mummy was not very well. I did stay with my Dad for a week but only because my floor was getting fixed. Lived with Grandad over Summer 2020. Spent time living with friends late Summer for a few weeks. Returned to Grandad’s for a short period of time October 2020. Moved to XXX shared house [in November 2020] where support is offered around tenancy and budgeting. Well basically we had a flood in the house, so we all had to be evacuated. All of us went back to live with our parents until it got fixed and then